


Beyond Cephiro

by Griddlebone



Category: Magic Knight Rayearth
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, F/F, Female Characters, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Plans For The Future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-03-06 12:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3133922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Griddlebone/pseuds/Griddlebone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Years after their adventures in Cephiro, the former Magic Knights take a big step together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beyond Cephiro

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Samuraiter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samuraiter/gifts).



Hikaru paced anxiously just outside the entrance to Tokyo Tower, oblivious to the stares she was getting from the crowds milling around.  She couldn't help it; waiting for Umi and Fuu always made her impatient. After their shared adventures in Cephiro, the weekly meetings at Tokyo Tower had become first habit and then tradition. At first, it had been their way of coping with experiences they could share with no one else. Then it had become a way to keep in touch, to maintain their friendship even as the trials of high school threatened to pull them apart.

And now they were getting ready for the next big milestone: graduation from high school and going to university. In just a few more weeks, their lives were going to change all over again. Hikaru could hardly stand to wait for Fuu and Umi. She wanted to hear all about how they were doing, even though it was likely that there was nothing new since last week.

Finally, she caught sight of them through the crowd, laughing and smiling as they headed toward the entrance. They hadn't seen her yet, probably because she was still so uncompromisingly short. She watched them for a minute, wondering with a faint smile on her face if they knew how much they looked like a happy couple.

When the three of them first came back from Cephiro, it had been hard to believe they would ever smile again. _We've come so far since then,_ Hikaru thought. Remembering Cephiro still made her a little sad, and she knew it probably always would, but now that pain had faded. It hurt, but it was behind them now. Now thinking about the future was even more exciting than remembering the magic and adventure of the past. And although they had never really discussed it, she had a feeling Umi and Fuu felt the same way.

She waited as long as she could, but in the end she couldn't resist bounding over to meet her friends halfway, starting in on her thousand questions almost before she'd joined up with them.

"Slow down, Hikaru!" Umi protested, affectionate exasperation already showing in her voice. "How can we answer any of your questions when you won't let us get a word in edgewise?"

Fuu giggled and tried to look innocent, but there was mischief in her green eyes that goaded Hikaru on. Hikaru pouted, but managed to stop talking. For a few minutes, anyway. Being with her friends just filled her with too much energy to contain.

It had been a long time since they'd actually gone into Tokyo Tower, and today was no different. These days, they usually took a stroll instead, or else found a cute cafe to stop at. But Tokyo Tower was still their meeting place.

So many years ago, now, and it seemed like just yesterday that they'd met for the very first time. It was here that everything had started, so it was here that they met each week.

Hikaru linked her arms with Fuu and Umi as they walked. It was a habit that had come easily because it was so comfortable to be close to them, and because she liked being close to both of them at once. They didn't seem to mind having her between them, either.

The three of them never had a destination in mind for their meetings, beyond the Tower. Sometimes they just wandered for hours, exploring corners of the city that they'd never been to before and enjoying each other's company. Hikaru liked those times almost as much as the ones when they stumbled onto new restaurants and cafes with really delicious food.

She was hoping for the latter today, but she was also perfectly happy just wandering with Umi and Fuu. The spring weather was pleasantly warm, and the late afternoon sunlight made everything seem bright and shiny. It was as close to magic as Earth came.

"You know," Fuu said after Hikaru had gotten through all of her questions about their families and their schoolwork and their plans for graduation. "Umi and I have some ideas we want to share with you."

"We want to move in together after we graduate from high school," Umi blurted. "All three of us."

Hikaru hesitated for a moment, caught completely off guard by the suggestion. She loved Fuu and Umi very much, but she hadn't ever really considered leaving home. At least not yet. Her brothers had grown up and moved on one by one over the last several years, and now the old family house felt so empty and lonely that Hikaru felt bad leaving, too. But once Umi and Fuu broached the subject, she desperately wanted their idea to work out.

Coming home each night to the two people she cared about most in the whole world... she couldn't think of anything better.

"Umi," Fuu chided, tactfully covering for Hikaru's momentary hesitation.

"It's a wonderful idea," Hikaru said at last. Now that the initial surprise was wearing off, enthusiasm was quickly taking its place. The three of them moving into an apartment together seemed like such a brilliant idea that Hikaru wondered why she'd never thought of it herself. And promptly decided it didn't matter. That was what she had Umi and Fuu for.

_It's because we're so different that we make such a great team,_ she realized. _I just assumed that life would keep pulling us in totally different directions, that eventually we would have no choice... but that doesn't mean we have to let it! What kind of Magic Knights would we be if we didn't stick together no matter what life throws at us?_

"It is, isn't it?" Umi asked, by which Hikaru understood that it had been her idea to begin with. "It'll be just perfect! We'll have so much fun together!"

Fuu's take on the idea was much more practical: finding a place they could afford that would be conveniently located for all three of them - and wasn't uncomfortably tiny - was sure to be a challenge. And then there were a whole host of practical issues that would come with living on their own, without as much direct support from their families as they were accustomed to. She explained all of this quite cheerfully, if practically, as Umi waved away each and every precaution.

They filled her heart with such joy, and just from being themselves. Fuu, the observant tactician even when there was no battle to fight, and Umi, who would always put her all into everything she did. Even if it was just convincing Fuu and Hikaru that her plan was a great idea, and not saving the world.

Hikaru herself was somewhere in the middle - exactly where she liked to be. She knew it would be hard to make ends meet and keep up with the challenges of their respective university careers, but she also knew both of her friends were up to any challenge that came their way. Together, the three of them would find a way to make it work.


End file.
